Sydney Living Museums

HYDE PARK BARRACKS

Three Film Installations

The Hyde Park Barracks is a confronting living record of early colonial Australia. As part of the Sydney Living Museums’ renewal of the site, three immersive installation works poetically tell human stories of the Barracks’ past and legacy.

A 9-meter-long video projection, composed and designed by Anna Fraser, gradually reveals the Barracks’ use as a women’s asylum. The work weaves together haunting photography of the women with bureaucratic records that coldly document their existence.

In another room, intimate textures drift and flicker over the sculptural forms of dresses, made in collaboration with production designer Elizabeth Gadsby. The dresses and their imagery accompany the spoken words of their owners - the memories of young women journeying to the colony.

Life-size video portraits act as a coda to the museum experience, with descendants offering their own thoughts on the Barracks’ history, its impact on First Peoples’ communities, and their personal connection to the site.

The exhibition serves as a gateway, connecting us to place, past, empathy, First Peoples’ perspectives and our own imagination.

Creative Director and Film Director : Mike Daly
Producer: Matt Roberts
Executive Producer: Mark Shunji Davies
Technical Director: Tom Siddall
Digital Design Studio: Grumpy Sailor
Studio Principals: James Boyce, Claire Evans
Exhibition Design: Local Projects

‘Asylum’ (wall projection)
Graphic & Motion Designer: Anna Fraser

‘Dresses’ (sculpture and projection)
Production Designer (dresses): Elizabeth Gadsby
Costume Supervisor: Scott Fisher
Costumieres: Maryanne Lawler, Mathilde Montredon and Charlie Aplin
Milliner: Bronwyn Shooks
Cinematographer: Rob Morton
Art Director (film content): Michael Price

‘Legacy’ (life-size film portraits)
Featuring: Dinawan Bill Allen, Gemma Beswick, Aunty Sue Blacklock AM, Nathan Blacklock, Mallyan Brian Grant, Sienna Brown, Leanna Carr-Smith, Pam Hoole, Mark Jenner, Cathy Osbourne, Garry Trigg, Georgia Wilson
Line Producer: Dinusha Ratnaweera
Cinematographer: Katie Milwright
Camera Assistant: Grant Wilson
Gaffers: Steve Schofield and Alan Fraser
Best Boy: Nick Gascoine
Key Grip: Martin Fargher
Sound Recordist: Eren ‘Pinky’ Sener
Art Director: Ant Miller
Hair & Make-up: Tracy Terashima
Production Assistant: Nic Flynn
Driver: Kentaro Yoshida
Editor: Pete Ward

Sydney Living Museum
SLM Head of Content, Strategic Projects: Beth Hise
SLM Acting Director Strategy & Engagement: Rebecca Bushby
SLM Head of Digital: Tim Girling-Butcher
SLM Acting Head, Curatorial & Exhibitions: Bob Whight
SLM HPB Museum Technician: Mitch Lewis

Video Documentation
Cinematographer: Josh Heath
Camera Assistant: James Campbell
Editor: Pete Ward